AGNES OF GOD

Lenyn A. Lara Bonfil

A scream in the middle of the night. The place: a convent in
Quebec, Canada. The scream comes from a room in which we find Agnes
a nun- covered with blood-stained clothes, totally out of control. She
has given birth to a baby and just strangled him. Agnes of God, is a film
with no stuffing scenes: the action and substance of the story start
running since the very beginning. Once we hear that terrifying scream
from Agnes, the happenings are unstoppable.
Agnes, a Gods daughter has given birth to a baby and she has killed
him. For those who believe Jesus was the Messiah announced in the
Bible, it is possible to see a relation between the story of Jesus and the
starting point of the film: although the Jewish people has a very different
and absolutely sustainable- view of the facts, there are people whose
point of view is Israel (represented by Agnes in our comparison) giving
birth to the Sheep of God (the Messiah) and then killing him by its own
hands. So the Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi is once again killed,
this time by the ignorance of a catholic nun. Based on true facts, the
pregnancy of Agnes is to be seen as the second coming of Jesus. It is
interesting to notice that Agnes means sheep agnus in Latin-, and
Agnes, being herself a sheep of God, gives birth to a baby which is to be
taken as the Sheep of God who takes away the sins of the world. For
those who regard as a failure the first coming of Jesus, this second one
would not be very different. But in this second case everything is more
grotesque: the twisted Catholic Church, the institution who served as an
inspiration for Hitler to continue with the assassination of the Jewish
people as the catholic madness has done for centuries- is now the
killing hand for this second possible Messiah.
Back to the film, the murder of the new born is soon a polemic case and
it is being followed by the press. The nun is about to go to prison, but
first there is a mystery to be solved: is Agnes mentally competent and,
therefore, responsible for her crime? Martha Livingstone is the
psychiatrist assigned to decide what is going to happen. Of course,
Martha is going to face a hard barrier: Miriam Ruth, the mother superior.
She does not believe in psychiatry: I dont want you to destroy that
mind, she warns Martha. Besides, no man but priest Martineau has
access to the convent, but he is too old and week to be the responsible.
On the other hand, Agnes believes his sins father is no one but God.
When Martha interviews Agnes for the first time, the latter, under the
pressure of Marthas questions utters: I dont believe in the baby! she
doesnt even has a clear idea about what happened the night the child
was born. Agnes is convinced she listens to a voice which talks to her
and calls her Marie. So we understand that Agnes, in a certain way,
seems to believe she is the Virgin Mary. Later we know Agnes-Mary
suffers from stigmata. On the other hand, Agnes not only feels unworthy
of having a baby, she didnt even wanted it: Im afraid of them, she
says, I think I could drop them.
Given the circumstances, the case turns to be a difficult religious and
psychiatric conundrum. Hypnosis gives neither evidence of rape or
seduction. The mother superior states that if mental power can cause
stigmata it is also able to cause pregnancy. It results surprising that the
mother superior and here we can see more about the grotesque of the
catholic church- doesnt think for a single moment about the possibility
of a Gods intervention in Agness pregnancy.
Agnes is certain that the only man she has had contact with was a
winged man the clear image of an angel-. In the end, her mental state
saves her from prison. Even Martha, despite her scientific profession, is
not sure about the truth of the facts around the case. Gods
intervention? Gods mistake?